Lowell Nesbitt, Visiting Artist Lecture 1977

Lowell Nesbitt gives a lecture at Skowhegan talking about his painting, drawing, and printmaking practice. Nesbitt’s work explores still life, repetition, and a deeply rooted interest in transposing ordinary objects into a relationship with light, color, and chiaroscuro. Nesbitt tells the students to find out who they are as artists, what their strengths are, and encourages them to separate themselves and their potential contribution from the contributions made by others. Nesbitt explains how–in his practice–he learned to search for a specific avenue, tension, and sense of mystery that felt casual. He did not want the mystery in his work to be romantic or literary, but to be understood as humanist, with a message that viewers could associate with the world. Nesbitt ends his lecture by talking about how printmaking has always operated as a way for him to achieve a graphic quality in his paintings, and how drawings will always operate as the most important medium for him. Ultimately–for Nesbitt–drawing helps to show the artist where they are, revealing themselves in the process.